I've given up on Promised Land...the problem is I've been outta C programming for a long time and I am having to redo the Makefile because some include files were eliminated in whatever version of Linux the new location has. Besides, my interests are all different and into here: http://stlwrestling.livejournal.com

The servers on Betterbox are slowing going away due to their age...the latest to get bit was the BB13 server, so Phoenix MUD has moved over to cpanel2.betterbox.net port 6716. The DNS addresses stay the same however. Because Promised Land is also on BB13, I'm set to move over there soon so they can shut down BB13 that has a core dump problem.

Well I certainly have been outta the loop lately. I've been quite busy the past couple of months with a big spike in work activity plus other family issues and thus had to put other things on the back burner for a while. I definately missed the news that Joong Kim has retired from Betterbox. I still have contact with him however, but he will no longer be the contact person when there's problems with the servers. Taking over as the contact will be Chuck Rock at carock@epcusa.com or the phone number at 800-235-1046 ext. 1050 (locally 636-443-1999). I, your Mad Conservative Crimefighter will still be around compiling the directory of MUDs for Betterbox and you can holler using one of my instant messenger names using either YIM: smlucas.geo or AIM: smlucas303 Now that I'm off dial-up modems and bad phone lines for cable internet I can get back to doing the work I used to do before I moved into a house and lost DSL.

Three Abermuds hosted on Betterbox include Promised Land, Phoenix and Sasora.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean man who played computer games for 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe, authorities said on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old man, identified only by his family name Lee, had been playing on-line battle simulation games at the cybercafe in the southeastern city of Taegu, police said.

Lee had planted himself in front of a computer monitor to play on-line games on August 3. He only left the spot over the next three days to go to the toilet and take brief naps on a makeshift bed, they said.

"We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a Taegu provincial police official said by telephone.

Lee had recently quit his job to spend more time playing games, the daily JoongAng Ilbo reported after interviewing former work colleagues and staff at the Internet cafe.

After he failed to return home, Lee's mother asked his former colleagues to find him. When they reached the cafe, Lee said he would finish the game and then go home, the paper reported.

He died a few minutes later, it said.

South Korea, one of the most wired countries in the world, has a large and highly developed game industry.

Well I thought this story was real familiar and I commented on such a thing prior. Here's what happened three years ago:

Man dies after playing computer games non-stopOctober 10 2002

A 24-year-old South Korean man died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours, police said yesterday.

The jobless man, identified by police only by his last name Kim, was found dead at an Internet cafe in Kwangju, 260 kilometres southwest of Seoul, they said.

Quoting witnesses, police detective Oh Myong-sik in Kwangju said the man had been virtually glued to the computer since late last Friday and had no decent sleep and meals.

The man collapsed in front of the counter early yesterday but soon regained consciousness. He then went to the toilet where he later was found dead, the police officer said.

Initial investigation ruled out the possibility of murder, police said. An autopsy was planned.

South Korea is among the world's most Internet-savvy nations with more than half of its 47 million people having access to the Internet. South Korea has some 22,000 Internet cafes, also known as PC rooms.

Many PC rooms are open 24 hours, but no minors are allowed after 10 pm.

Man them South Koreans are NUTS! Only arcade gamers going for world record scores do stuff like this.

Young protesters came to New York City Tuesday, massing outside the SoHo offices of a video-game maker about to release a "Columbine-like" game called "Bully."

Carrying banners reading "President Bush, save the youth, don't let us down," more than 150 kids from Peaceaholics, a not-for-profit mentoring organization, came from Washington, D.C., to the offices of Rockstar Games.

"A lot of youth are playing these games and there's a lot of violence that people are copying," said Cordero Sellers, 16. "I'm trying to do my best to stop this release."

The company, which earlier created the violent, controversial "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," (search) is about to issue "Bully," featuring a high-school student who gets picked on but turns the tide on his tormenters — with extreme violence against other students and teachers, say the protesters.

It is a scenario similar to the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, in which two students killed 12 classmates, a teacher and themselves.

The protesters demanded an audience with Rockstar officials, but no one from the company came out.

"It's important that we're here today because violent images seen on games are copied by kids," said Anthony Ford, 17.

"We're trying to stop people getting hurt before it's too late."

Florida lawyer and anti-violence activist John Thompson accompanied the kids.

"Columbine changed the face of America but you [Rockstar] are about to come out with a game that celebrates, glamorizes and trains kids to do what [Columbine killers] Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris did," said Thompson.

"Bullying is not a subject for a video game. We are not asking Rockstar to stop making this game, we are demanding they stop."

Rockstar is keeping details of the plot a closely guarded secret but describes it as "humorous" and "tongue in cheek."

The company states on its Web site: "As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school Bullworth Academy."

The game is due to be released for Xbox and Playstation 2 in October.

A security guard at Rockstar's office on Broadway said: "There is nobody available for comment and that is that."

The company did not return phone calls from The Post.

Sheesh, I would had eaten this game up during my high school years probably. Every kid who hates school will find some way to get a copy and play for hours, then learn how to apply the gameplay to their lives.